Today’s review is about HEAVENLY BODIES by Imani Erriu. It’s the first book in the Heavenly Bodies series, with the second book out later this month in the U.S. This indie-turned-traditionally published romantasy is like a warm hug with familiar fantasy tropes yet a refreshing magic system.
Author: Imani Erriu
Series: Heavenly Bodies, #1
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Random House Canada
Publish Date: January 14, 2025
Print Length: 496
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Heavenly Bodies Synopsis
Synopsis
A runaway TikTok sensation, Heavenly Bodies is the first book in a dazzling new romantasy series that blends Greek mythology and shadow magic with a tantalizing enemies-to-lovers romance that will rewrite the stars.
“You know the most dangerous kind of villain? A woman with nothing left to lose.”
In a world ruled by the cruel and merciless Stars, Elara has been cursed by fate. A prophecy promises she will fall for a Star, but that it will kill them both.
So when Ariete, Star of Wrath, War and Chaos, descends to wreak havoc on Elara’s kingdom, she flees her home—the Kingdom of Night—for the neighbouring Helios, Kingdom of Light.
And strides straight into the arms of an enemy prince.
Fearing that Ariete might turn his sights to Helios next, Prince Lorenzo is forced to train Elara as a weapon—one worthy of battling against the tyrannical reign of the Stars. But there are shadows even within the Kingdom of Light—and they threaten to reveal the darkness in Lorenzo’s past and the ancient magic that slumbers in Elara’s veins.
And with it all comes an undeniable, star-crossed pull between Elara and Lorenzo that neither can seem to resist…
Heavenly Bodies Review
In HEAVENLY BODIES by Imani Erriu, a prophecy claims Elara will fall for the King of Stars, but it will kill them both. When Ariete descends, angered by the prophecy, Elara finds her sheltered world thrown asunder. With her parents dead and herself kidnapped to the neighboring kingdom of Helios, Elara has no choice but to be used as a weapon to kill a star. Prince Lorenzo is charged to oversee her training and unlock her power. And, despite his arrogance and her stubbornness, they each find themselves drawn to each other.
HEAVENLY BODIES employs a lot of well-loved fantasy romance tropes. That, coupled with the excellent writing, makes this book feel like a homecoming to the popular fantasy romance genre. While the tropes aren’t new, Erriu sketches out a magic system whereby humans in each kingdom have different powers. A Star rules each kingdom and the humans that reside there celebrate their god at various times of the year. Elara, from Asteria, can dreamwalk, cast illusions, and has shadow magic, the latter of which she has trouble accessing. Lorenzo’s main magic is that of light. The Stars basically represent the zodiac and have names that reflect that. Thankfully, Erriu includes a list at the beginning of all the Stars and what they represent.
Even though this book clocks in at about 500 pages, it didn’t really feel that long. Erriu keeps the plot moving at a decent pace without compromising too much on character development. I really appreciated that this is a slow burn. (I will stand on my soap box once again to say that I think slow burns make the chemistry feel more realistic and allow for camaraderie to develop between the characters borne out of shared experiences.) The banter between Elara and Lorenzo is quite good and didn’t feel very forced.
However, a couple things kept me from rating this book higher. First, even though Elara and Lorenzo spend a lot of time with each other, I never felt like their characterization never reached its full emotional depth potential. I can’t quite put my finger on why, but some key moments felt more like a small crescendo rather than a grand reveal. That slight lack of emotional depth is also there with Elara’s female friendships. Second, I would have liked to see more page time devoted to describing the training. It seemed to me like she got off rather easily when avoiding training, considering the whole point is to hone her into a weapon. Third, the last quarter of the book felt a bit ACOTAR-like, but I can’t be mad about that since there are only so many tropes that can be done in a variety of ways.
I know it seems like I have a lot of complaints, but I genuinely enjoyed this book. I’m definitely looking forward to the next one. Pick up HEAVENLY BODIES if you love slow burns, fantasy romance tropes, and astrology-based magic.
Rating: 4
Content warnings: sexual content, torture, blood, death of a parent, violence
Reading format: Hardback
If you liked this book, you may also enjoy THE HURRICANE WARS by Thea Guanzon.
I love slow burn romance too. This sounds really good. It wasn’t on my radar, but now I’m curious to hear more about the sequel if you read it😁
Apparently it got super popular on TikTok, which I didn’t know about because I’m not on there; I’m kind of surprised that enthusiasm didn’t cross over onto bookstagram or elsewhere. But it’s quite good and I’m looking forward to reading the sequel. I spent 4 hours in the fairyloot queue (which did not please me) to preorder the sequel.
Great review! A couple months ago (maybe?) I saw this title mentioned a lot on bookstagram but otherwise, I actually haven’t seen it mentioned much on the blogosphere or Bluesky. It does sound interesting and I’ve had my eye on it, but you’ve now convinced me to add it to my digital shelf, lol.